U.S. patent number 6,802,771 [Application Number 10/215,841] was granted by the patent office on 2004-10-12 for adjustable apparatus for separating grain from harvested crop.
This patent grant is currently assigned to CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH. Invention is credited to Gregor Gogolin, Berthold Schwersmann.
United States Patent |
6,802,771 |
Schwersmann , et
al. |
October 12, 2004 |
Adjustable apparatus for separating grain from harvested crop
Abstract
An agricultural harvesting machine for removing and separating
grain from harvested crop has a threshing zone and at least one
separation zone for separating the grain. The axial separating
rotor is at least partially encased by a separating housing having
a plurality of sections. At least one of the sections is
displaceable in the axial direction of the at least one axial
separating rotor to increase the opening and ensure separation when
a correspondingly large proportion of grain are in the outer region
of the rotating crop stream and the proportion of admixtures is
small.
Inventors: |
Schwersmann; Berthold (Bad
Iburg, DE), Gogolin; Gregor (Munster, DE) |
Assignee: |
CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen
GmbH (Harsewinkel, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
7695163 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/215,841 |
Filed: |
August 8, 2002 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Aug 10, 2001 [DE] |
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101 39 539 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
460/69; 460/109;
460/81; 460/83 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01F
12/442 (20130101); A01F 7/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A01F
12/44 (20060101); A01F 7/00 (20060101); A01F
7/06 (20060101); A01F 007/06 (); B02B 003/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;460/69,107,108,109,80,81,83,101,102 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
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|
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3537459 |
November 1970 |
Thomas |
4075823 |
February 1978 |
Rowland-Hill |
4222395 |
September 1980 |
Johnston et al. |
4869272 |
September 1989 |
Ricketts et al. |
5152717 |
October 1992 |
Nelson et al. |
5334093 |
August 1994 |
Jensen et al. |
|
Foreign Patent Documents
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1989612 |
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Jul 1968 |
|
DE |
|
6919051 |
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Sep 1969 |
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DE |
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3832996 |
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Apr 1989 |
|
DE |
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19525244 |
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Jan 1997 |
|
DE |
|
0 591 688 |
|
Apr 1994 |
|
EP |
|
Primary Examiner: Kovacs; Arpad Fab
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Husch & Eppenberger, LLC
Haldiman; Robert C. Chambers; David A.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An agricultural harvesting machine for removing and separating
grain from harvested crop, comprising: a threshing zone having
threshing members for threshing harvested crop; a separating zone
operatively connected to the threshing zone for receiving the
threshed crop from the threshing zone and for separating the grain
from the threshed crop, the separating zone having an axial
separating rotor partially encased by a separating housing, the
separating housing having a plurality of sections which are
selectively opened to provide a separating zone and closed to
preclude separation; and means for selectively opening and closing
at least one of the sections for displacing a location of the
separating zone in an axial direction of the axial separating
rotor.
2. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further including: a front region of the separating housing wherein
the displacement of the front region of the axial separating rotor
is effected by at least partially closing the separating
housing.
3. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further including: a tangential threshing mechanism used in the
threshing zone for threshing.
4. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
wherein the separating housing is segmented into segments in an
axial direction of the axial separating rotor.
5. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 4,
wherein the segments are closed in successive order and opened in a
reverse order.
6. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 5,
wherein successive closing of several of the segments of the
separating housing begins with the segment adjacent to the front
region of the separating housing.
7. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further comprising: a plurality of pivotable closure flaps adjacent
each other and operatively attached to the separating housing in a
circumferential direction of the axial separating rotor, wherein
the closure flaps in the closed position close a region of the
separating housing.
8. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further including a plurality of closure flaps pivotably mounted in
an axial direction of the axial separating rotor and adjacent to
each other in a circumferential direction of the at least one axial
separating rotor, wherein the closure flaps in the closed position
close a region of the separating surface.
9. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further including closure flaps pivotably connected to each other
by a coupling member and adjacent to each other in a
circumferential direction of the axial separating rotor.
10. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further including a plurality of closure flaps pivotably and
successively arranged in an axial direction of the axial separating
rotor and coupled to each other by at least one pivot mechanism to
successively close the closure flaps from the front region of the
axial separating zone and open the closure flaps in reverse
order.
11. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further including: coupling members; closure flaps controlled by
the coupling members and arranged adjacent to each other in a
circumferential direction of the axial separating rotor; and slot
guides in the pivot mechanism, wherein by displacement of the slot
guides, the coupling members perform a pivot movement in the
circumferential direction of the at least one axial separating
rotor, thereby pivoting the closure flaps from a closed position to
an open position and from the open position to the closed
position.
12. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 11,
further including: at least one connecting rod for operatively
connecting the slot guides to means for displacing, wherein the
means for displacing displaces the slot guides in the axial
direction of the at least one axial separating rotor.
13. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further including: coupling members; closure flaps arranged
adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction of the axial
separating rotor; slot guides in the coupling members and arranged
pivotably about a shaft pointing in an axial direction of the axial
separating rotor; and wherein when pivoting the slot guides, the
closure flaps pivot from a closed position to an open position and
from the open position to the closed position.
14. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
further including: coupling members; means for displacing slot
guides and operatively connected to the coupling members; and means
for controlling the means for displacing.
15. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 1,
wherein there are two axial separating rotors arranged adjacent to
each other, and a coupling mechanism operatively attached to
closure flaps, wherein the closure flaps are arranged in a region
between the axial separating rotors.
16. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 11,
wherein when the closure flaps are in an open position, throughput
in a radial direction is increased.
17. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 2,
wherein displacement in the front region is effected as a function
of the separation of admixtures at the separating surface.
18. The agricultural harvesting machine according to claim 17,
further including: means for sensing the separation of admixtures
in the crop stream separated at the separating surface; and means
for generating an output signal for automatic displacement of the
front region of the separating surface in response to the
signal.
19. An agricultural harvesting machine for removing and separating
grain from harvested crop, comprising: a threshing zone having
threshing members for threshing harvested crop; a separating zone
operatively connected to the threshing zone for receiving the
threshed crop from the threshing zone and for separating the grain
from the threshed crop, the separating zone having an axial
separating rotor partially encased by a separating housing, the
separating housing having a plurality of sections, each section
having a plurality of pivotally-mounted, axially-extending vanes
which are moveable between an open position to provide a separating
zone and a closed position to preclude separation; and means for
selectively opening and closing the vanes of at least one of the
sections.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the field of agricultural
machinery and, more specifically, to an agricultural machine having
apparatus for separating grain from harvested crop.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A combine harvesting machine having a single-cylinder or
multi-cylinder threshing mechanism in a rear region is disclosed in
EP 0 591 688. The single-cylinder or multi-cylinder threshing
mechanism is associated with one or two axial separating rotors,
respectively, along a longitudinal direction of the combine
harvester. Each of the axial separating rotors has a rotating rotor
therein which is provided with entraining elements at its
circumference and which, at least in its bottom region, cooperates
with a separating grate fixed to the frame and at least partially
encasing the rotor. At the top, the rotor is enclosed by enveloping
surfaces in such a way that between the rotor, the separating grate
and these enveloping surfaces is formed a through-gap through which
the agricultural crop is conveyed in spiral paths along the rotor
axis by the axial separating rotor. During this conveying process,
separation of the grain and straw mixture conveyed by the axial
separating rotor occurs, wherein grains, short straw and chaff are
separated by the openings formed in the separating grates. In the
front region of the axial separating rotor, a considerable
proportion of short straw and chaff, so-called impurities, is
separated, as the grains which are in the crop stream must first be
conveyed by the action of centrifugal force into an outer edge
region of the crop stream before they can be separated in the
region of the separating grates. To facilitate separation of
admixtures, intensive cleaning of the separated crop mixture is
required. The cleaning systems are provided for this purpose and
mounted behind the axial separating rotor in the agricultural
harvesting machine. When there is a considerable proportion of
admixtures, the cleaning systems installed on the agricultural
harvesting machine are not sufficient to achieve the required
purity of crop. As such, the crop must be further cleaned in
stationary cleaning devices. This leads to considerable extra
expenditure, which greatly increases the costs of the harvesting
process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,272 discloses an axial-flow combine harvester
having an axial-flow threshing and separating rotor with a
rotatable rotor about its longitudinal axis. EP 0 591 688,
discloses a rotor having dual functions of threshing and separating
the grain from the harvested crop conveyed by the rotor. For this
purpose, a front region of the rotor is the threshing zone and an
adjoining rear region of the rotor is a separating zone. Both the
threshing zone and the separating zone are enveloped at the top by
shell surfaces. In the lower region of the rotor, the shell
surfaces merge with concaves and separating grates for separating
grain from straw mixture. At the beginning of the separating zone,
the grains embedded in the crop stream are first moved into an
outer region of the spiraling, rotating crop stream before they can
pass through the openings of the separating grates. In axial-flow
combine harvesters, this leads to a considerably higher proportion
of admixtures being separated at the beginning of the separating
zone, resulting in overloading the subsequent cleaning
components.
The present invention is directed to overcome one or more of the
problems as set forth above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of this invention, an agricultural harvesting machine
having means for removing and separating grain from the harvested
crop such that the harvested crop separated in the separating zones
has a reduced proportion of admixtures.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is an
agricultural harvesting machine for removing and separating grain
from harvested crop, comprising, a threshing zone having threshing
members for threshing crop; at least one separating zone having at
least one axial separating rotor partially encased by a separating
surface and operatively connected to the threshing zone for
receiving the threshed crop from the threshing zone and for
separating the grain, wherein sections of the separating zone are
displaceable in the axial direction of the at least one axial
separating rotor; means for separating the grain from the harvested
crop; and means for removing the grain from the threshed crop,
wherein at least the removal and partial preliminary separation of
the grain from the threshed crop take place in the threshing
zone.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the separation zone has a
separating surface operatively connected to the at least one axial
separating rotor, wherein the separating zone has sections which
can be displaced in the axial direction of the at least one axial
separating rotor to ensure that separation will not begin until a
correspondingly large proportion of grains are arranged in an outer
region of a rotating crop stream, so that the proportion of
admixtures separated by the axial separating rotor remains
small.
In still another aspect of the invention, displacement of sections
of the separating zone is obtained by encasing the axial separating
rotor in a separating surface and by at least partially closing the
axial separating rotor with the separating surface.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a particularly advantageous
effect of the invention is obtained if the axial separating rotor
associated with a tangential threshing mechanism or the separating
zone of an axial-flow threshing and separating rotor is constructed
in the manner according to the invention.
In another aspect of the invention, the separating surface is
segmented and the segments are pivotable to an open and closed
position, wherein the separating surface is closed successively
beginning in a crop entry region of the separating surface, and
opened in the reverse order.
In another aspect of the invention, the separating surface holds,
in the circumferential direction of the at least one axial
separating rotor, a plurality of pivotable closure flaps. Each of
the closure flaps are independently controlled and can close a
portion of the separating surface, but in cooperation with closure
flaps adjacent to it allows complete covering of the separating
surface. In this way, it is ensured that each closure flap need
only a small area for pivoting between its opened and closed
positions, hence saving space.
In an aspect of the invention, there are closure flaps arranged in
an axial direction of the axial separating rotor, so that
displacement of sections in a front region of the separating zone
is achieved in a structurally simple manner.
In another aspect of the invention, closure flaps are arranged
adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction of the axial
separating rotor and are pivotably connected to each other by a
coupling member, so that a single displacing operation pivots all
of the closure flaps that are operatively connected to each other
simultaneously.
To simplify displacement of the closure flaps, the closure flaps
arranged adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of
the axial separating rotor can be pivotably connected to each other
by a coupling member, so that a single displacing operation pivots
all the closure flaps connected to each other simultaneously.
In still another aspect of the invention, the closure flaps are
opened and closed such that the closure flaps are arranged one
behind the other and operatively and pivotably connected to each
other by a common pivot mechanism.
In yet another aspect of the invention, there are closure flaps
that are successively opened and closed by coupling members. The
closure flaps move along slot guides that have curved paths,
wherein the shape of the curved paths ensures that closing of the
closure flaps begins at the beginning of the axial separating rotor
and opening of the closure flaps begins with the closure flaps
closest to the rotor end. The axial displacement is effected by
displacement means known in the art, which are operatively
connected to the slot guides by at least one coupling rod.
An aspect of the invention is slot guides pivotably arranged about
a shaft pointing in the axial direction of the at least one axial
separating rotor, wherein the shape of the slot guides ensure the
order of opening and closing of the closure flaps. The arrangement
of the slot guides can lead to a considerable reduction of
displacement paths hence a space savings.
In another aspect of the invention, closure flaps are the
displacement means, and the closure flaps are independent of each
other and actuated independently of each other to achieve flexible
displacement capacities.
In still another aspect of the invention, the agricultural machine
has a plurality of axial separating rotors, displacement means and
associated displacement mechanisms, wherein the displacement
mechanism is arranged in a gap between the axial separating rotors
to reduce the particles swirling around said gap.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the crop passing through
the separating surface is not hindered in its movement by the
closure flaps. Further, adjacent closure flaps can have such a
pivot range that when in their opened position, they form the shape
of a funnel opening in a radial direction.
In another aspect of the invention, displacement of sections in a
front region of the separating zone facilitates separation of
admixtures and depends on crop properties such as moisture,
fracture behaviour, grain size. The displacement varies as a
function of the separation of admixtures in the front region of the
separating zone.
An aspect of the invention is achieved by displacing sections in a
front region of the separating zone, wherein displacement is
effected automatically as a function of the separation of
admixtures. Sensors sense the proportion of admixtures, and a
control and evaluation unit receive the sensed signal and use said
signal to control the through flow of admixtures and to correct the
through flow via opening or closing closure flaps.
The above aspects are merely illustrative and should not be
construed as all-inclusive and limiting to the scope of the
invention. The aspects and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent, as it becomes better understood from the following
detailed description when taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Reference is now made more particularly to the drawings which
illustrate the best presently known mode of carrying out the
invention and wherein similar reference characters indicate the
same parts throughout the views.
FIG. 1 is a side view of a combine harvester having a tangential
threshing mechanism and axial separating rotor;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view through line II--II of FIG. 1 with
closure flaps located in an open position;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along line II--II
of FIG. 1 with closure flaps located in a closed position;
FIG. 4 is a detailed view of an axial separating rotor as shown in
FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a side view of a combine harvester having an axial
threshing and separating rotor; and
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view like FIG. 3, but illustrating an
alternative embodiment of a pivot mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows an agricultural harvesting machine in the form of a
combine harvester 1. The combine harvester 1 has a feed rake 3 at a
front region as determined from the direction of travel FR when
harvesting crop. As seen in FIG. 1, the feed rake 3 rotates
counterclockwise as shown by arrows 4. Conveyor 5 transfers the
harvested crop in a crop stream 6 from the feed rake 3 to a
multi-cylinder threshing mechanism 7. The threshing mechanism 7 has
threshing cylinders 9, 10, which rotate counterclockwise as shown
by arrow 8. The threshing cylinders 9, 10 pick up and convey the
crop stream 6 along concaves 11, 12 toward a feed roller 13. During
the movement of the crop stream 6, grains are removed from the ears
and at least partially separated on the concaves 11, 12 and
delivered to subsequent working components. In a rear region of the
threshing mechanism 7, the crop stream 6 is picked up by the feed
roller 13 and delivered to an input region 14 of an axial
separating device 15 arranged at an incline in the direction of the
travel FR. It is contemplated that the multi-cylinder threshing
mechanism 7 shown can be replaced by a single-cylinder threshing
mechanism (not shown), and instead of the axial separating device
15 being a single-rotor, a twin-rotor or multi-rotor axial
separating device 15a, 15b as shown in FIG. 2 can be mounted behind
the threshing mechanism 7. Each of the axial separating devices
15a, 15b has an axial separating rotor 18. These rotors counter
rotate as shown by arrows 16, 17. The axial separating devices 15a,
15b have circumferential surfaces 19 encompassed by entraining
elements 20 of a shape capable of wrapping around the
circumferential surfaces 19 in spiral form. Each of the axial
separating rotors 18 is encased by a cover 21 at a top region. The
covers 21 are operatively attached to mounting rails at its lower
region, which releasably hold frame structures 23 of any convenient
design. In a manner known in the art, the frame structures 23 are
releasably attached to and hold a separating surface 25. The
separating surface has through-openings 24. As shown in FIG. 4, the
separating surface 25 are preferably a plurality of segments 26-29
which are operatively connected to the frame structure 23 forming a
separating grate 30. In the combine harvester 1 shown in FIG. 1,
the multi-cylinder threshing machine 7 defines a threshing zone 31
and the axial separating device 15 defines a separating zone
32.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, first and a second segment 29, 28,
respectively, of the separating surface 25 have closure flaps 33.
The closure flaps 33 are spaced apart in the circumferential
direction of the axial separating rotor 18. The closure flaps 33
are attached to the frame structure 23 of the separating grate 30
at a first end so as to be pivotable about shafts 35 extending in a
axial direction 34 of the axial separating rotor 18. A sealing
surface 36 is operatively attached or integral with each of the
closure flaps 33. Spaced from the sealing surface 36 is an
axially-extending pivot shaft 37. Each of the pivot shafts 37 is
conveniently held non-rotatable by an arcuate coupling member 38,
wherein the arcuate coupling member 38 non-rotatably holds one or
more guide bolts 39. FIG. 4 shows first reinforcing struts 40
centrally associated with each of the front segments 28, 29 of the
separating surface 25. The first reinforcing struts 40 are
laterally and integrally formed. As shown in FIG. 3, second
reinforcing struts 41 have slot guides 42. The slot guides 42
engage the guide bolts 39 formed integrally with the coupling
members 38, so that the coupling members 38 can perform a pivot
movement as shown by arrow 43 about the associated regions of the
separating surface 25. The movement is dependent upon the length of
the slot guides 42. The arcuate coupling members 38 are pivotably
about and traversed to bolts 44. The bolts 44 are pivotably mounted
to bifurcated heads 45. The bifurcated heads 45 are operatively
attached to rod-shaped extensions 46. At an end distal from the
bifurcated head 45, the rod-shaped extensions 46 each have an
integrally formed ball socket 47. Each of the ball sockets 47 is
operatively connected to a ball head 48. Each of these ball heads
48 is received at its end facing away from the ball socket 47 by
slot guides 49, 50 which are conveniently formed in a flange plate
51. At the top of the flange plate 51 is an integrally formed
hollow profile rod 52, which is operatively connected to a
connecting rod 53. The connecting rod 53 is mounted by a bushing
54. At its end facing away from the flange plate 51, the connecting
rod 53 is pivotably connected by a bolt 55 to a pivot lever 56. The
pivot lever 56 is rotatably connected to the frame structure 23 of
the separating surface 25 by a base bolt 57. The base bolt 57 is
operatively connected to a holding flange 58. So the pivot lever 56
can perform a pivot movement about the bolt 55 held by the holding
flange 58, the pivot lever 56 is engaged by a piston rod 59 of a
lifting cylinder 60. It is contemplated that the lifting cylinder
60 can be replaced by any displacement apparatus 61 which allows a
movement of the pivot lever 56 about the bolt 55 held by the
holding flange 58.
As shown in FIG. 4, the piston rod 59 is retracted into the lifting
cylinder 60. In this position the pivot lever 56 which is pivotably
connected to the piston rod 59 has displaced the connecting rod 53
so far in the direction of the rear end of the axial separating
device 15 that the bolts 48 which traverse the slot guides 49, 50
of the flange plate 51 abut against the end of the slot guides 49,
50. Here the bolts 48 are in their lowest position in the vertical
direction within the slot guides 49, 50. In this position, the
extensions 46 connecting the coupling members 38 to the slot guides
49, 50 also occupy their lowest position vertically. As shown in
FIG. 3 this leads to the coupling members 38 being held in a
position in which the guide bolts 39 associated with them abut
against the bottom end of their slot guides 42. Each coupling
member 38 is operatively connected by pivot shaft 37 to the
respective closure flap 33. In this manner each pivot shaft 37
passes through an oblong hole 62 formed in the coupling members 38.
This allows the pivot shafts 37 which pass through the coupling
members 38 to be able to compensate for changes of length occurring
during pivoting of the coupling members 38. When coupling member 38
is in the FIG. 3 position, the closure flaps 33 connected by pivot
shaft 37 to the coupling member 38 have pivoted in the direction of
the separating surface 25, and are in their closed position
indicated at 63. In closed position, crop 65 is precluded from
passing through the through-openings 24 and from being received by
subsequent working components, such as a cleaning device 66 known
in the art and therefore not described in more detail. can be
effectively displaced axially of the axial separating rotor 18.
With the closure flaps 33 in closed position, a separating zone 67
(see FIG. 4) Depending on the number of segments having closure
flaps 33, the length of the closable separating surface 25 can be
selected.
Referring again to FIG. 4, the lifting cylinder 60 can be
selectively pressurized to extend the piston rod 59 and displace
connecting rod 53 toward the front end of the axial separating
device 15. Consequently the slot guides 49, 50 are also displaced
in this direction. In the process, bolt 48 travels first through a
region 68 ascending in a vertical direction and the closure flaps
33 pivot from the closed position to an open position as indicated
at 70 in FIG. 2. In the open position the crop 65 passing through
the separating surface 25 moves to the subsequent working
components.
Note that while the closure flaps 33 of the rear segment 28 perform
the pivot movement described, the closure flaps 33 of the segment
29 in front remain closed. This is because the front slot guide 49
is differently shaped. If the piston rod 59 is now further
extended, the bolt 48 associated with front slot guide 49 passes
into a vertically ascending region 68. In this way the closure
flaps 33 of the segment 29 in front are now also pivoted from
closed to open position.
If the pressurization of the lifting cylinder 60 is now varied in
such a way that the piston rod 59 is retracted into the lifting
cylinder 60, the closure flaps 33 of the segments 28, 29 pivot in
the reverse order. In this way, first the closure flaps 33 of the
segment in front 29 in the direction of travel FR pivot from the
open position 70 to the closed position 63, and only when this
pivot movement is over do the closure flaps 33 of the segment 28
also move from the open position 70 to the closed position 63.
It is contemplated that the length of closure flaps 33 can be
varied in the axial direction 34 of the axial separating device 15,
wherein then the lengths of the individual regions 68, 69 of the
slot guides 49, 50 must be adapted to the new geometrical
conditions. Also, the coupling members 38 centrally associated with
the segments 28, 29 can be arranged at any point in the region of
the segments 28, 29 in order to force the movement defined by the
shape of the slot guides 49, 50 on the closure flaps 33.
The example of the axial separating device 15 mounted behind a
multi-cylinder threshing mechanism 7 can also be applied to
so-called axial threshing and separating rotors 71, which is shown
in FIG. 5. Such axial threshing and separating rotors 71 are
usually divided into a threshing zone 72 and a separating zone 73,
wherein the structure and function of the separating zone 73
essentially correspond to the structure and function of the
separating zone 32 already described for the axial separating
device 15, so that the invention is easily applied to the axial
threshing and separating rotors 71.
Referring now to FIG. 6, the slot guides 49, 50 previously
described and which trigger the pivot movement of the closure flaps
33 can be designed as slot guides 75 rotating about a shaft 74
pointing in the axial direction 34 of the axial separating rotor or
rotors 18, wherein the bolt 48 passing through these slot guides 75
in turn transmits, by means of a coupling mechanism 76, movement
defined by the slot guides 75 to the coupling members 38 of the
closure flaps 33. Such a design requires less space, as means for
converting a linear movement to a rotational movement can be
eliminated.
Separate displacement apparatus 61 may be used to move the closure
flaps 33 of the segment 28, 29 of the separating surface 25. The
actuation of the closure flaps 33 are coordinated with each other
in such a way that the closure flaps 33 pivot in a manner according
to the invention so that displacement of the earliest separating
zone 67 in the axial direction 34 of the axial separating device or
devices 15 is possible.
In order that the crop 65 passing through the separating surface 25
is not hindered by the closure flaps 33 located in the open
position 70, the closure flaps 33 are shaped in such a way that
adjacent closure flaps 33 in the open position 70 span between them
creating a throughput zone 77, which opens in a radial direction as
a funnel shape pointing away from the separating surface 25.
In a further advantageous embodiment, at least one sensor unit 79
is placed in a crop stream 78 for sensing the separation of
admixtures at the separating surface 25 and for sending the sensed
measurement signal or signals 80 to a control unit 81. In the
control unit 81, depending on the input signal 80 an output signal
82 is generated, which leads to automatic displacement of the
earliest separating zone 67 of the separating surface 25. At its
simplest, the output signal 82 can regulate pressurization of the
displacement means 61 designed as a lifting cylinder 60, so that
the closure flaps 33 automatically open or close in the manner
according to the invention. The closing and opening of the closure
flaps 33 are regulated so that with an increasing proportion of
admixtures in the separated crop stream 78, a larger number of the
closure flaps 33 is closed. Conversely, with a decreasing
proportion of admixtures in the separated crop stream 78, a large
number of closure flaps 33 is opened.
The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific
mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom
within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from
the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief
advantages.
* * * * *